The new season begins Saturday in the National Lacrosse League for Jeff Moleski and the Vancouver Stealth and when he steps out onto the floor at Langley Events Centre to face the New England Black Wolves he says he'll feel the butterflies floating in his belly.
Just like he does before every game.
The native of Prince George turns 34 in February and he realizes he's in the twilight of his career heading into his 13th season.
But that does not mean Moleski is going to take it easy and coast into retirement. That's not possible in a sport as physically demanding as lacrosse.
He's a workout animal during the off-season at the Northern Sport Centre in the weight room and on the running track and he feels he's in great condition to start the season.
"I feel good - to be in the league for a long time you have to know how to play smart and have proper positioning and I guess I'm doing something right to be in the league that long," said Moleski.
"It's good to be wanted still. If I'm not playing at the level I want to be I wouldn't be playing."
Training camp started at the end of November and he's been commuting to the Stealth home base in Langley practically every weekend since then to get ready for what's coming his way when the league's top shooters start trying to score on one of the NLL's most savvy shut-down defenders.
Drafted by the Calgary Roughnecks in 2003, Moleski began his NLL career in Calgary, where he played six seasons from 2005-2010. He was traded to the Everett Stealth in the summer of 2010 and played four years with the Stealth (three seasons in Everett, Wash., and one season in Langley after the franchise moved there in 2014).
The former Prince George Posse junior signed as a free agent last year with Calgary. The Roughnecks wanted Moleski back for another season but he decided a return to the Stealth provided a better fit as he winds down his pro career.
"There's just a lot of good people there and lot of good friends so I figured I'd finish my career playing with some good company in a good organization," said Moleski.
"The team looks good, they've done a good job with adding some key pieces to the puzzle. Defensively we've improved a lot. Guys are really champing at the bit to go and we'll see what happens (tonight), I'll give it one more year."
At the time he signed Moleski, Stealth general manager Doug Locker expressed his relief to have him back to help shore up what was one of the weakest defences in the NLL last season.
"Jeff Moleski is not only one of the best defenders in the NLL, but he is the ultimate teammate, person and leader," said Locker, on nll.com. "We are absolutely ecstatic to have him back in Vancouver and can't wait to see him in a Stealth uniform again. He fulfills so many of our needs and will be a big piece for us in the coming year."
Moleski is a close friend of Stealth captain Curtis Hodgson and they room together on the road. The Stealth defence is a veteran crew with more than 600 combined games of NLL experience.
Hodgson is the leader in that department with 179 games and Moleski isn't far behind with 159 games under his belt.
Defenders Ian Hawksbee, Chris O'Dougherty, Matt Beers (back after a year away while serving his probation with the Coquitlam fire department), and the injured Rory Smith also have long NLL resumes.
Eric Penney, 22, was the most outstanding goalie in the Western Lacrosse Association last summer with the New Westminster Salmonbellies, and he'll get most of the work in the Stealth cage, backed by 12-year NLL veteran Chris Levis, who's back from a two-year hiatus.
At transition, nobody is older than 27, and that puts the onus on Mitch McMichael, Brandon Clelland, Travis Cornwall, Tyler Garrison and Justin Salt to get the job done.
The forward group will be led by Rhys Duch (who had 62 goals and 103 points in just 18 games last year) and Garrett Billings, picked up in a trade for Tyler Digby in October from New England.
Billings, a Langley native who played most of his career with the Toronto Rock, was the first NLL player to record three consecutive 100-point seasons and was an MVP finalist in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
A lot is expected of Logan Schuss (the first-overall NLL draft pick in 2013, who joined the Stealth in a March trade from Minnesota) and Corey Small, who had 32 goals and 75 points in 2015. Also up front are Joel McCready, Jordan Durston and Cliff Smith.
The Stealth play their first road game next Friday in Saskatoon against the Saskatchewan Rush. The team won 16 regular season games and the 2015 Champions Cup as the Edmonton Rush, but averaged an all-time low attendance of 6,578 and after 10 seasons in the Alberta capital moved to Saskatoon during the summer.
Moleski takes on his former Roughnecks teammates Jan. 30 in Calgary.
